Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ended with an intriguing cliffhanger, but the movies never fully delivered on this in the same way as the books. While Dumbledore’s death was the primary focus of this story’s ending, one particular mystery was left unsolved until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the books, this led Harry, Ron, and Hermione to discover some dark truths about Voldemort’s Horcruxes, as well as one of the Harry Potter series’ most ironic and tragic stories. Unfortunately, the Harry Potter movies cut this woefully short.
Though Harry and Dumbledore risked everything to retrieve one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the locket they found turned out to be a fake. Harry only realized this after Dumbledore was killed, and it was a bitter truth to accept. It seemed to Harry that the headmaster had weakened himself for nothing since someone with the initials R.A.B. had switched out the Horcrux for a decoy necklace containing a letter to the Dark Lord. The mystery of who R.A.B. was and what he had done with the real locket was left for Deathly Hallows, but the movies dropped the ball.
The Deathly Hallows Movie Didn’t Deliver On The R.A.B. Cliffhanger
The Big Mystery Of Half-Blood Prince’s Ending Got An Anticlimactic Resolution In The Movies
The letter Harry found in the fake locket in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was deeply intriguing, and it was immediately apparent that there was a story behind it. Going into Deathly Hallows, the initials R.A.B. were Harry’s only clue about the location of a Horcrux—rather frustrating since Dumbledore hadn’t provided much additional information. Though the seventh movie saw Harry discover at No. 12 Grimmauld Place that R.A.B. was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius’ brother, this was as far as the story ever went.
The Deathly Hallows movie only revealed that Regulus had stolen Slytherin’s locket and pᴀssed it on to Kreacher, who told Harry that Mundungus Fletcher had stolen it. This was, ultimately, the critical bits that Harry needed to know to lead him to Dolores Umbridge. However, the movie never delivered on the “how” and “why” Regulus did what he did. The character’s entire letter to Lord Voldemort was essentially ignored, and the Half-Blood Prince mystery itself was made far less interesting. This was disappointing since Regulus’ full story shined light on several other details within the Harry Potter series.
The R.A.B. Story Was Among Harry Potter’s Most Ironic Twists
The Movies Missed Out On All The Meaningful Layers
In the Harry Potter books, Kreacher detailed the full story of how Regulus came to have Slytherin’s locket. Sirius’ brother had been a Death Eater, and Voldemort requested the use of his house-elf, which Regulus obliged. The Dark Lord used Kreacher to test the Emerald Potion that served as the primary protection over his Horcrux in the cave and left the poor elf to die. Luckily, Regulus grew worried about Kreacher and summoned him, ultimately making it possible for him to escape the cave and survive. The whole situation resulted in a change of heart on Regulus’ part.
Regulus loved Kreacher, and the story the elf told him about the cave left him deeply disturbed and concerned about the Dark Lord. The young Death Eater returned to the cave with Kreacher and drank the Emerald potion himself so that Kreacher could take the Horcrux and destroy it. Regulus was killed in the cave, and a distraught Kreacher returned to No. 12 in despair. It’s a terribly tragic story, and the details of this deliver on the mystery Regulus’ note created in Half-Blood Prince. Still, there are more covert layers here that add significantly to the Black family’s overarching tale.
Sirius heard that Regulus had tried to leave the Death Eaters, but he never learned the full truth.
Sirius Black despised Kreacher, and his hatred and mistreatment of the elf contributed to his undoing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Ironically, Sirius’ own Dark-wizard brother had sacrificed his life to save this very same house-elf. Deathly Hallows explores the complex morality of characters like Dumbledore and Snape, and this theme is perfectly reflected in Sirius and Regulus’ ironic deaths. Unfortunately, the Harry Potter movies missed this entirely.
Why Regulus Black’s Letter Was Important To Half-Blood Prince’s Story
Dumbledore Drank The Potion For (Almost) Nothing
Though the contrast in Regulus and Sirius’ stories is an intriguing feature within Kreacher’s tale in Deathly Hallows, this isn’t the only reason the R.A.B mystery was so important. Another layer within the irony is that, like Regulus, Dumbledore had allowed himself to be weakened by the Emerald Potion to protect the life of someone else. Voldemort considered house-elves and underage wizards useless and disposable, but Regulus and Dumbledore gave their lives to protect them. Of course, in both situations, this was, ironically, for nothing.
This poetic irony linked the final two books of Harry Potter, and it’s unfortunate that such details are so often missed by movie adaptations.
Dumbledore’s death was all the more bitter at the end of Half-Blood Prince because he and Harry hadn’t even been successful in claiming the Horcrux since Regulus had already gotten it. Regulus’ death was also a waste since Kreacher had been unable to destroy the Horcrux until Harry retrieved it. Had Regulus never taken the locket, Harry and Dumbledore would have later, and the story would have come to the same end. This poetic irony linked the final two books of Harry Potter, and it’s unfortunate that such details are so often missed by movie adaptations.
